McWilliams switches to Paton for 2022 North West 200

Three-time North West 200 winner Jeremy McWilliams will return to the North West 200 in 2022 after switching to Paton machinery.

The former Grand Prix start won the Saturday twins race in 2019 aboard Ryan Farquhar’s KMR Kawasaki. His two previous NW200 victories had also come on Farquhar’s machinery in the same class but this year the Newtownabbey man will swap the KMR ER6 Kawasaki for an IFS/Bayview Hotel Paton.

“I did consider riding Ryan’s bike again and I would do so in the future but it is just the way things have worked out,” said McWilliams. “During lockdown not much was happening and Ryan wasn’t sure what he was doing. The rules for the Supertwin class have been changed recently and that has definitely shaken up all of those teams that are using 650cc engines. Graeme Hanna from IFS bought a Paton and told me if I wanted to use it, I could work away.”

McWilliams rode the new bike for the first time during a USBK meeting at Kirkistown last July, taking two wins on the Italian machine.

“My time at Kirkistown wasn’t under the fastest lap I had set previously on Ryan’s bike but now the North West has returned we have decided to give the Paton a run and see how it performs.

“The Patons were strong in 2018/19 but the rules have changed since then and we will just have to suck it and see.”